Building Christ-like people and relevant churches

The rapidly expanding Church in the developing world requires strong leadership that can proclaim the Gospel of God’s grace in the context of poverty, despair and violent conflict. The Church is challenged to be the place where the poor find hope and practical help through programs that respond to their needs. These needs and opportunities create great demands on pastoral leadership.

We are committed to leadership development. Training takes place in established seminaries through our international partners and informal seminars depending on the context. The internet is used in areas where class attendance is impossible. The training is aimed at grassroots leaders who do not have access to scholarships and funding that enables them to study in the west. We believe that these leaders will shape the next generation of the Christian Church.

Here is one story of a Christian leader in Kenya.
 

Joseph Mwangi was raised in a Christian family and grew up in the church. He was eventually given responsibilities as a Sunday School teacher and as time went on, the pastor and other church members noticed his leadership potential and gave him more opportunities, including preaching.gave him more opportunities, including preaching.

“This is when I came to have the desire in me to become a pastor and I felt there was need to join a Bible School,” Joseph says.

Joseph also knew that a huge gulf exists between tribes in Kenya. Because of this, he committed to serving the Kamba people – learning their language, starting ministry among them – even though he is from the Kikuyu tribe. It was a difficult decision to make, but Joseph believes that he has been called to serve people of all tribes.

After successfully completing the Africa Brotherhood Church’s three-year leadership training program, Joseph became the pastor of one of their churches in a very difficult region, the Rift Valley, an area with a huge number of urban poor.

It also became one of the areas in Kenya most impacted by the post-election civil unrest.
 
A lot of people in the area have been affected by the turmoil and violence. Many houses were torched. Properties and businesses destroyed. “We are working on trying to urge people of different cultures, different tribes, to live together as Kenyans,” says Joseph. “We have a challenge as a church where we serve and the Lord, I believe, will be with us as we try to bring people together.”

This young pastor and his church now face the difficult task of rebuilding their community. Trust has broken down between neighbours and reconciliation is a huge challenge. So too is the continuing challenge of extreme poverty, a lack of jobs and large numbers of unemployed youth – all pressing concerns that churches in these swelling, urban regions hope to better address.
 

One new training program will help pastors be better equipped to handle these kinds of challenges. Pastor Joseph is one of approximately 30 young African leaders who are participating in the new Diploma in Integral Mission Program offered by CBM, in partnership with Carey Theological College.

Click here to invest today in more grassroots leaders like Joseph.